An Afternoon At The Movies

Yesterday afternoon my family gathered at our house to celebrate my sister's birthday. As part of the revelry, we ended up watching two movies, both of which were (surprisingly) quite good.

DeJaVu is a time travel/action adventure type movie with Denzel Washington and Val Kilmer. First off...what the heck has happened to Val Kilmer? Seriously, where did Mr. Handsome go and who is this fat old guy that has taken his place? Depressingly sad. At least Denzel is still incredibly handsome. Ok, superficiality aside (though honestly, Top Gun was an excellent eye candy movie only because of Ice Man, not Shrimpy), the plot itself was really well executed. The first thing you need to remember though is that it's a sci-fi/time travel movie. Otherwise you end up after the first ten minutes (and the terrorist event that kicks off the whole thing) wondering exactly how you go up from here. There is a little esoteric discussion of alternate reality vs. parallel realities, which I guess is widely discussed in the time travel community - but it's pretty amusing and well presented. (Is there a time travel community? I suppose researchers at MIT and Stanford probably have these conversations. But even as geeky as I am, I can't say that I've ever declared an official position as far as the whole time/space continuum debate. I can't say I'm willing to commit myself even now.) Regardless, it's a fast-paced, well written, suspenseful movie. I give it 4 Glider Goggles out of 5.

After supper, the guys went off to rampage against monsters and other evil things. Normally my sister and I would join them, leaving mom to her own devices in the theater. However, mom had brought along Miss Potter - and I was marginally curious, having always loved my Beatrix Potter books growing up.

I have to say, my main hesitancy in seeing Miss Potter was Renee Zellweger. Followed by Ewan MacGregor. I just don't care for either of them, in general. Though I will admit that I am surprised on occassion by both of them (Down With Love and The Island being two prominent examples). The movie tells the story of Beatrix's life from her the acceptance of her first book for publication through her move to Hill Top Farm and the beginnings of her efforts to save the surrounding countryside from overdevelopment. It's a well done peek into her life to see the obstacles she faced as a single woman, artist, and author (all of which were made harder than they needed by her parents who simply seemed incapable of trying to understand her. Though I suppose her father rallied at the end.) Anyway, it's well worth a look. 4 Brass Buttons out of 5.